Pyramids
by Kelly Jean Chapman
Pyramids
by Kelly Jean Chapman
Sixth Grade Research Report
May 31, 2006
Table of Contents
The Making of the Great Pyramid....................................................................................... 3
Inside the Pyramid............................................................................................................... 4
Outside the Pyramid.............................................................................................................4
Conscripts............................................................................................................................ 5
Mummification and the Gods.............................................................................................. 6
The People Involved with the Great Pyramid......................................................................6
William Matthew Flinders Petrie.................................................................................... 6
Auguste Mariette.............................................................................................................7
Napoleon Bonaparte........................................................................................................7
The American Pyramids...................................................................................................... 8
Tenochtitlan......................................................................................................................... 8
The Aztec way of Life......................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion......................................................................................................................... 10
Pyramids
by Kelly Jean Chapman
The Pyramids, those of South America, Mexico, and Egypt, have been with us for
centuries. People from all over the world still flock to Africa and the Americas to see
the work of long dead pharaohs and kings. They are gone, but their footprints still
remain, marking time and reminding us of the era when their kingdoms prospered and
flourished.
The Making of the Great Pyramid of Egypt
The Great Pyramid towers above the Giza Plateau in Egypt. Magnificent in its
antiquity, it shows how well it was built, for after about 4500 years, it is still standing.
Now at 450 feet high, the pyramid is 31 feet lower than it used to be as some upper stones
are now gone. Conscripts built the pyramid from more than two million limestone
blocks, each weighing an average of two and a half short tons! When it was all put
together, the pyramid covered thirteen acres. The following is a step-by-step process of
how the pyramid was built.
First, architects found out what was the best size and shape for the pyramid. They
made calculations and drawings. Some priests were then told to find out which direction
was North because the pyramid was supposed to face that direction. They could not build
the pyramid on uneven ground, so they leveled the site by cutting a grid on the rock and
filling the channels of the grid with water. The rock was then cut to the level of the
water. The pyramid stones had to be cut by hand. Workers used wet wooden wedges to
crack the stones. Then they were smoothed and made square.
Next, it was time to move the stone blocks. Levers, ropes, sledges on rollers, and
ramps were used. A space was left somewhere near the center of the pyramid for the
burial chamber. The granite capstone was laid on and the rest was covered with white
limestone. The causeway and temples completed the scene.
Inside the Pyramid
An entrance passage led down into the Subterranean chamber or into the
ascending passage which, when the pyramid was finished, was blocked with sealing
plugs. The ascending passage led into the Grand Gallery which was connected to the
King’s Chamber. The Subterranean chamber seems to have been unfinished. There is a
passage that goes through the rock that was never finished. It might have been for
Cheops's resting place, but no one knows. Cheops was the king who was building these
Pyramids. He was also known as Khufu. The descending passage was not large enough
for a sarcophagus.
A Map of the Inner Pyramid
Outside the Pyramid
A great causeway linked the Mortuary Temple and the Valley Temple outside the
pyramid. Three smaller pyramids called the Queen’s pyramids also stood outside on the
southeast side of the great pyramid. There was one for Khufu’s mother, Queen
Hetepheres, one for Queen Henutser, who might have been Khufu’s half-sister, and one
for Queen Meritetes, who might have been Khufu’s queen.
The boat pits outside the pyramids were dug in the shape of Ancient Egyptian
boats. They had boat parts inside them which a man named Hag Ahmed Yusuf put
together into a boat that was 142 feet from prow to stern. It even has its own museum.
The Sphinx, the half man, half lion with a broken nose, is the “guardian” of the great
pyramid. It was built after Khufu’s era and the lion was considered a “guardian of holy
places” according to Egyptian mythology. It is 66 feet tall at it’s highest point and it is
240 feet long from end to end. That is a pretty big guardian!
Conscripts
There were about 4000 people working on the great Pyramid. These workers
needed to be clothed, fed, and sheltered while they worked. Cooks and bakers were hired
along with people to build ovens for them. There were water carriers to keep the ramps
wet and people to build the ramps. There were potters to make the water jars. There
were scribes. There were overseers. There were butchers, brewers, and people to make
the barracks. In all, about 25,000 workers were hired.
The common man in Ancient Egypt wore only a short loincloth while officials
wore a long starched skirt that was held up by a rope around the neck. Some priests wore
leopard skins slung over one shoulder. Women wore long, tight dresses held up by low
shoulder straps. Court ladies wore elaborately decorated, V-neck, long sleeved tunics.
Ladies wore tight garments to show their figures and almost everyone wore white
because of the heat. Almost everyone went barefoot and both men and women shaped
their hair and used make up.
Mummification and the Gods
After an Egyptian died, it was believed that he or she went to the next world. If
that person was rich then he or she could be mummified. The process took 70 days. As
time passed the process became more and more elaborate. First, embalmers removed the
brain piece by piece through the nostril. Then they cut an incision on the left side of the
abdomen to get the intestines, stomach, liver, and lungs, but not the heart. Usually, they
filled the body with oil and spices. Next, they plugged the nose with wax and dried the
body in a salt called Natron. Last of all, Embalmers wrapped the body in linen bandages
and placed it in its coffin.
The Egyptians had a religion that is now dead. They believed in several gods.
“Ra” the main god was often represented as the sun. He and the goddess “Rennutet”
were relied on for good harvests. The most important pair was “Isis” and “Osiris”. “Isis”
represented a devoted mother and wife. Her husband and brother Osiris ruled over
vegetation and the dead. The “god” of the sky was “Horus”, their son who was often
pictured with the head of a falcon.
Tutankhamen was one of the most famous mummified Pharohs
The People Involved with the Great Pyramid
William Matthew Flinders Petrie (1853-1942)
Petrie was an interesting individual who surprisingly received no formal
education. However, he learned geometry just for the fun of it, and was interested in
astronomy, chemistry, surveying, and coin collecting even though he was a sickly boy.
In 1880, when he was 27 years old, he hopped aboard the S.S. Nephthys bound for Giza.
Tourists usually went during the summer and spring so he went to Egypt during the
winter. He stayed in an empty tomb making observations while the winter lasted. He
lived with rats, fleas, and insects but was not discouraged easily. His first priority was to
carry out the most accurate possible triangulation of the whole site. He worked
painstakingly and sometimes, when it got very hot, he worked naked under the sun.
Petrie published several works including Ten Years Digging in Egypt (1892), Egypt and
Israel (1911), and Stonehenge (1880). In 1894 he founded the British School of
Archeology in Egypt. He died in 1942.
Auguste Mariette (1821-1881)
When Mariette learned of the wonders of Egypt, he gave up a secure teaching
position to get a menial job and learn Coptic. He was soon fluent and able to go to Egypt
where he found a sphinx buried in the desert sands. He then set up the Cairo Museum.
Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821)
Napoleon Bonaparte also played an important role in the Egyptian pyramids'
history. In 1798 Napoleon led his French army into Egypt. They defeated the
Mamelukes in the Battle of the Pyramids with an amazing outcome. In all, there were
only about 40 casualties on the French side while the Mamelukes suffered terrible losses.
Napoleon wanted to stop the trade routes used by Britain in Egypt since that country was
France’s chief enemy. Napoleon also wanted to start a French colony in Egypt and he
brought many French scholars with him. Their observations revived the study of
Egyptian artifacts and their writings provided an excellent description of Egypt at that
time.
Tourists who flock to Egypt year round to see the pyramids often cause great
disaster. Not just now, but before, too. The pyramids and other great archaeological
finds in Egypt are being ruined by graffiti and vandalism.
The American Pyramids
The American pyramids are as significant as those on the Giza Plateau. They
were stepped pyramids with flat tops to make room for temples that were used to
sacrifice to the ancient American gods. Many are still standing although they are worn
and ancient. One of the greatest pyramids is found in Peru’s northern coast, near Trujillo.
The Temple of the Sun is a terraced brick pyramid on top of a stepped platform. It was
215 meters by 215 meters at the base and about 63 meters high but in later periods it was
enlarged to the final size of 225 meters along each side.
Spanish conquerors destroyed most of the pyramids of the later Aztec empire but
the Ancient Mayas have some left. They built pyramid shaped mounds of earth with
temples on top. One tribe even gathered tons of rubble, covered it with dirt and made
that a pyramid!
Mayan Ruins at Palenque
Tenochtitlan
The city of Tenochtitlan was founded by the Aztecs. It has a very special history.
An old legend says that once, a long time ago, the Aztec people wandered about Mexico
looking for a place to live. They reached a large lake named Lake Texcoco and there
ahead of them was an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its talons. The took that
as a special sign from the gods which helped them to decide to settle there. They made
an island in the middle of the lake and built a city there. That city grew and prospered.
To this day the flag of Mexico bears the symbol of the eagle on a catus with a snake in its
talons. The middle of the city featured a pyramid called the Great Temple in that stood
about 130 feet tall. Tenochtitlan is now modern day Mexico City since the Spanish
destroyed Tenochtitlan and drained Lake Texcoco where they settled. But even though
the city was destroyed, parts of it can still be seen in Mexico City. Other famous
pyramids that are still standing can be found in Guatemala. They were built by the
Mayans whose culture was at its peak around 250 A.D.
Hernando Cortes was a Spanish explorer who conquered what is now Central and
Southern Mexico. He took over Tenochtitlan and destroyed most of the city.
Montezuma II, the leader of the city at the time, was wounded and died when the people
of Tenochtitlan rebelled. Cortes then hanged the new leader. Cortes helped spread
Spanish rule in Mexico. He died on December 2, 1547.
Chichen Itza was a large Mayan city that was the home of a huge limestone
pyramid with a temple on top dedicated to what they called Kukulkan. Kukulkan, also
known as Quetzalcoatl, was a feathered serpent god.
The Aztec Way of Life
The Aztecs ate beans, maize, tortillas, vegetables, and various sorts of water
creatures. The rich people drank chocolate. Back then the chocolate that they drank was
probably bitter and grainy. But the Aztecs didn't think it was bad! They thought that it
was food fit for the gods. The men wore loin cloths and if they could afford it, they wore
a cloak, too. Priests and warriors wore tunics. Common people used only white cloth for
their clothing. The richer people were allowed to wear colors and designs on their
garments. Rich people wore sandals and the common folk went barefoot. The Aztecs
had mirrors, lip balm and perfumes. They even had chewing gum! Ladies used a special
ointment to make their skin yellow because that was their favorite color. The farmers
lived in cottages made of wood, straw, and mud. They had one room, a dirt floor, an
open doorway, but no windows and no chimney.
Aztecs were unusually clean. They took a bath at least once a day and they used
the roots of certain plants for soap. Each home had a sweat lodge and there were more
than a thousand washers and sweepers hard at work around Tenochtitlan every day.
There were public toilets and garbage was buried at the edge of the city. They ruled
during the 1400's and early 1500's until the Spanish came. The Aztecs were an extremely
interesting people about which most people know little or nothing.
Conclusion
This report describes the history and making of the Great Pyramid. It discusses
the people who lived in Egypt's old kingdom. Although this report discusses a few of the
people involved with the pyramids, those mentioned are just a few among many hundreds
of others who have contributed to the great time line that makes up the history of these
pyramids.
The report spoke about the pyramids of America and the great city of
Tenochtitlan. It discussed the different cultures, practices and gods of the Egyptians and
the Ancient Americans. It described several ancient Egyptian pyramids and the life of
the lowly people and how they helped build and use pyramids. There was also a
summary of the life of a few noted archaeologists.
It is amazing that two completely different cultures, unknown to each other,
created such similar structures. The pyramids of Egypt were used as tombs for pharaohs
whereas the pyramids of of the Americas were for worshiping their gods and sacrificing
animals and people.
The Egyptian pyramids are notably more famous than those of the Americas but
people have known about them for a longer period of time. Although the Latin American
Pyramids were built a long time after those of Egypt, the pyramids of both cultures are
exceptional. It is true however, that both types of pyramids are amazing and magnificent
examples of time, architecture, and history.
Bibliography
Building the Great Pyramid, Jackson, Kevin, Toronto, Firefly Books, ©2003.
Pyramids, Teresa L. Hyman, Kid Haven Books ©2005, San Diego.
Aztecs, ©2004 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia, H.B. Nicholson, Ph.D. Emeritus. Professor of Anthropology, University of California, Los Angeles.
Pyramids, ©2004 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia, Leonard H. Lesko, Ph.D. Professor of Egyptology and Chairman, Department of Egyptology, Brown University.
Maya, ©2004 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia, Robert J. Sharer, Ph.D., Professor of Anthropology, University of Pennsylvania.
Toltecs, ©2004 World Book Multimedia Encyclopedia, William O. Autry, B.A., consultant, Anthropological Research Associates, South Bend
Incans, Aztecs & Mayans, 5th Edition, ©2002, John Holzmann, Sonlight Books